It took almost a month before Bruce could find time to make it back to New York. Keeping Damian busy had been harder than either Bruce and Alfred had anticipated. However, having Oracle's help with that particular task made everything just a bit easier. When Bruce slipped in through the window of Dick's apartment he, once again, found Tim sitting with a laptop on his lap, most likely refining their latest plan after meeting with Jason Blood a handful of times over the past month. Jason was sitting on Dick's coffee table sharpening what looked like every knife the three of them owned, and Dick was perched on the back of the couch watching TV. The three of them looked so peaceful together that Bruce was reluctant to break the tenuous moment, especially since none of them had seemed to notice his arrival. However, he didn't think that prolonging the inevitable would do any of them any good.

Before he could step out from his hiding place, though, Jason abruptly stopped honing knives, Tim suddenly shut his laptop, and Dick jumped off the back of the couch...all simultaneously. They all turned to where Bruce was standing in the shadows. He would have laughed if he didn't think that it would end with Jason throwing one of the knives at him. Bruce stepped out of the shadows and gestured for all of them to stand down. Tim was the first to nod, and go back to what he was doing. Jason tensed the moment that he saw Bruce, but then shrugged and returned to his knives. Dick, on the other hand, glanced at the other two for a moment before making his way to the window. He gestured for Bruce to follow him.

Once they were on the roof, Bruce turned to Dick. But before he got a chance to say anything, Dick cut him off. "Look, you don't have to say anything. I know that you're sorry for everything that happened, and well, we're all healing, so I guess there's no point. I mean, it's not like any of us are actually good at this whole emotional thing anyway."

Bruce just stared at Dick for a moment. As much as he appreciated the out, Bruce knew that he had to do this-even if it was just for his own peace of mind. "You're wrong, Dick. I do need to say this. I am sorry for what happened, and I shouldn't have accused Tim the way that I did. But beyond that, I should have tried to listen to you, or at least I should have tried to talk to you. I shouldn't have thrown you out of the cave. I was wrong about so very many things. Jason helped me to realize just how many things I had been wrong about, and for that I am grateful."

Dick just nodded once, and didn't say anything for a long time. He was afraid to ruin the delicate moment. It wasn't every day that Bruce grew an emotional backbone, and he had every intention of savoring the moment for as long as possible. When it seemed as though Bruce had reached the peak of discomfort though, Dick laughed lightly. "When did you learn to talk about your feelings?"

Bruce stared at him impassively, but Dick could see the corner of his mouth twitch in what he knew was smile. "Some time after I started housing a demon, I would suspect."

Dick laughed whole-heartedly at that. "Did you just make a joke? I think you just made a joke."

Bruce just continued to stare. "I think it's time that the four of us got down to business. I brought Tim the supplies he wasn't able to procure on his own. Jason Blood has informed me that the current plan should work, and it shouldn't be too difficult to create a portal back to Damian's world, as long as we can subdue Damian before he realizes exactly what we're doing."

Dick nodded. "Yeah, Tim told us that he's been working with Jason Blood to perfect the spell, and, as long as we can give him time, he should be able to open the portal in as little as three minutes-once he's has everything set up."

Bruce grunted. He still wasn't happy that Tim had to be the one to open the portal, but since he seemed to be the main person Damian was set on destroying, it was necessary. The two of them apparently had a bond, at least that's what Jason Blood had said. Since Damian was most threatened by Tim, he would have to be the one who performed the spell. Apparently, it was essential that the portal be sustained long enough to shove Damian into it. That didn't mean that Bruce had to be comfortable with all of the magic use, but he already knew that there was no other feasible option for sending Damian back.

They returned to Dick's apartment before anything else could happen. Neither of them were surprised to find Tim and Jason in the exact same positions they had been in when Bruce and Dick made their exit to the roof. When Bruce and Dick walked back into the living room, both Tim and Jason stopped what they were doing, and turned to face them. Jason tensed again, but clearly tried to hide it, while Tim simply stood and walked over to Bruce. "I got your email, so I assume you brought what I needed with you."

Bruce nodded once before handing Tim a bunch of small pouches, and four large white candlesticks. "Jason Blood said..."

"That the pouches have to remain separate until I'm ready to use them. Yeah, I know, but thanks." Tim walked back over toward the desk where he had been sitting, and started checking to make sure that he had everything. Once he was sure that he wasn't missing anything, Tim turned back to the others. "I'm ready when you guys are."

Dick sighed as he glanced around the room. The air was thick with anticipation. After so many months, they were finally going to put an end to the Damian threat. For the first time since this whole thing had started, they were all together and whole...no one was nursing any injuries other than the normal amount of cuts and bruises from their night time activities. The plan was set, and even though Dick knew that Bruce wasn't necessarily comfortable with the whole thing, he was working with them, which was something for which they were all relieved and grateful. Dick turned to Tim. "Why don't you and Jason go get the rest of our stuff together? I'll meet you at the bikes."

Without a word, the other two left. Dick couldn't help but notice how relieved Jason had looked to get out of the room. He never spoke about his conversation with Bruce. The others weren't foolish enough to bring it up, but he hadn't been his normal snarky self ever since that night. Tim had immediately returned to his Robin-like business mode when it seemed that Jason was just going to sulk this out, but this was the first time that any of them had seen Bruce since that night, and it was clear that nothing was going to go back to normal until after they got Damian back to his own dimension where he could go wreak havoc on his own world. At least, Dick hoped that everything would return to some semblance of normal. He didn't have any delusions that everything between Bruce and Jason was going to be healed with one heartfelt conversation, and he had no idea if Tim would relax a little once there was no longer a demon constantly trying to kill him.

Dick turned back to Bruce. "You should get going. We'll meet you at the designated rooftop once you have Damian with you. Be careful."

Bruce nodded once, and then left.

Dick did one last check of his apartment to make sure that they had everything that they needed. When he met up with the other two, they were already on their bikes waiting for him. Dick walked over and placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. "You know once this is all over, you're welcome to stop by...or, you know, stay."

Jason just stared at him for a moment, not saying anything. "If you say so."

Tim glanced over to Dick, clearly concerned by Jason's lack of attitude and general irritation at the world at large. Dick shrugged before getting onto his bike. He was about to turn it on when Tim gave him a gesture to halt. "Yeah, Jason, I could use another sparring partner." Tim tried...it wasn't one of his best efforts, but to be fair Dick was pretty sure that his thoughts were more focused on what he needed to do once they got back into Gotham.

Jason just shrugged. "You've got Dickie bird."

It was the first time that Jason had used the nickname since his conversation with Bruce, and Dick wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. Tim just stared at Dick waiting for him to say or do something...as if Dick had all the answers. Dick shrugged again, and tried to make it very clear that he was out of his depth here. It wasn't like he was very good at interacting with Jason before his death, and he sure as hell wasn't any better now. "I guess we should get going. We have a lot to set up before Bruce gets there with Damian."

Tim looked mildly disappointed for a fraction of a second before he put on his helmet, and then started his bike. Dick knew Tim was currently sporting that determined set of his jaw that he always wore when it was time to get to work. Although, whether that facial expression was for the mission ahead or what he wanted to happen after this was all over, Dick wasn't sure. One thing was clear though, they had a long, and most likely silent, drive ahead of them back to Gotham, which meant that they all had plenty of time to think. However, Dick wasn't so sure that time to think was a good thing for any of them.

He knew that Jason and Tim had grown somewhat closer while they were hiding out together-that was obvious just from watching them interact at his place-but with Jason acting so off, and Tim being so closed off lately, he wasn't sure that whatever truce they had managed to declare would hold after this particular mission was over. But Dick hoped that it would. He wanted nothing more than for his two younger brothers to get along, and not just for their sakes. He enjoyed spending time with both of them, and was happy to have the worst fight be about who was going to wash the dishes. It was simple, and Dick missed simple. For almost an entire month, the three of them had been able to put aside everything from the past and just be. Not to mention that it was nice to have two people Dick could leech physical contact off of. Dick always knew that he was a social creature who needed physical affection, and while neither of his younger brothers were exceedingly comfortable with physical contact, they both seemed to put up with it enough from him to suit Dick's needs just fine. He was going to miss not having them around all of the time, even if that meant that he could finally reclaim his bathroom.

When they arrived at the designated rooftop, Tim immediately started setting up everything that he needed. He used white chalk to draw intricate symbols in a large circle around him on the rooftop, and then spread the pouches that Bruce had given him in front of him in a straight line in a very specific order, so that when it came time to mix the contents of the bags he could do it quickly and in the precise order that Jason Blood had taught him. Next he took the four long white candlesticks and placed them at North, South, East, and West. He placed Jason's lighter near the one placed at North for two reasons. One, so that he could easily access it later, and two, because the spell required something personal from each of the members involved. Tim then moved to place the knife that was a gift from Jason near the candlestick that sat to the west of him. Next to the candlestick in the east, Tim placed one of Dick's extra escrima sticks, and finally, beside the candlestick in the south, Tim placed one of Bruce's batarangs. Tim opened a small case he had sitting next to him, which contained a syringe filled with Damian's blood. He placed five drops of the blood in the center of the circle, and then sat back on his heels...kneeling in the center.

Once Tim had finished, he looked over everything he had done to make sure that he wasn't forgetting anything. Once he was sure that he had done everything correctly, he called the other two over. "I've done everything that I can until they get closer."

The other two just stared at him for a moment before Jason moved into his defensive spot in front of Tim's circle. He glanced over at Dick. "Try not to fuck this up."

Dick breathed out a laugh full of relief, now that Jason was suddenly acting like his old self. "You just make sure to cover Tim. No matter what happens, he can't be interrupted until he's finished the incantation, and managed to sustain a portal. Once the doorway to Damian's world is stable, feel free to jump in and help. We have no idea what he can do beyond transforming into a demon."

Jason glared at him for a moment. "Yeah, that and set the entire roof on fire, but Tim and I learned that the hard way."

Dick set his jaw. "That's not happening this time. I promise."

Jason didn't look convinced of that...not at all. "Sure, just try not to get your ass blown up. I really don't feel like scraping you off the sidewalk."

Dick smiled brightly at that. "You be careful too, Jason."

Jason rolled his eyes before turning back to Tim. "What's B's ETA? Do you think I have enough time to kick Dick's ass?"

Tim smirked as he shook his head no. "I don't think so. You two spend too much time bickering and acting like idiots before the actual fighting starts."

Jason glared at Tim. "Why the hell am I protecting you again?"

Tim's smile only brightened at Jason's griping. It had been a long time, and Tim had actually kind of missed it. "Because, despite everything, you're intelligent enough to know that you can't be angry with the world when there is no world left to be angry with."

Jason scowled more. "Damn semantics."

"Hey, guys, I just got word they'll be here soon. Tim you better start lighting those candles."

The two of them snapped to attention at Dick's words. Tim waited a few seconds, and then began to light the candles...moving counterclockwise. The moment Bruce and Damian touched down on the roof, Tim started reciting the spell that Jason Blood had taught him. The words rolled off of his tongue with the precise amount of emphasis on the syllables that needed it...just like all of the times he had practiced it. The language wasn't similar to any other on earth, and even Kryptonian wasn't so long winded, or as hard to learn, but Tim had made good use of all of his sessions with Jason Blood.

The moment Damian realized what Tim was speaking, he lashed out in anger, and started hurling explosives straight at Tim; but the other three were fully capable of taking care of the situation. At least, Tim hoped so. He couldn't afford to get distracted from his recitation. Although, as Bruce and Dick moved in to detain Damian, it was clear to Jason and Tim that something was very wrong. They couldn't hear what Damian was saying, but they could both see his lips moving. Suddenly the air around them was thick and hot. It crackled with energy, and they both knew what was about to happen. Tim couldn't afford to stop, and scream...stopping would render the spell useless, but he wanted nothing more than to halt his chanting. Luckily for him, Jason was already moving, and yelling. "He's going to transform! Back away NOW!"

Both Bruce and Dick had seen the footage of what Damian transforming was like...what terrible consequences it could bring, but no amount of watching could have ever prepared them for it. Fire erupted from seemingly nowhere. The air pressure changed dramatically, the sheer force of the wind that also seemed to appear from nowhere pushed them all back, and with a screeching yell, there was suddenly a horrid-looking, red-skinned, black-horned, wrinkly demon standing in front of them. It didn't matter that they had both seen Damian transform into this once before, and knew what the transformation looked like, it was still terrible-and worse was the smell. The entire area around him smelled like putrid flesh. His eyes glowed, and his long, sharp, pointed teeth were the most repulsive yellow color any of them had ever seen.

The three of them fell back, and surrounded Tim, who had just started emptying the pouches into the center of the circle directly on top of the drops of Damian's blood. Without any warning, Damian started teleporting around them...flashing in and out of sight. Jason groaned as he held his knives out in front of him. "Oh, great, he can teleport. Tim, did you know that he could teleport? Because, I swear, if you did, and you just felt like leaving that out, I'm going to kick your ass so hard once this is over."

Dick spun his escrima sticks in his hands. "Jason, now's not the time. Focus!"

Before the two of them could start bickering at each other properly, Bruce's growl of, "Down!" cut through the air, and mere seconds later a fireball flew over their heads.

Dick got to his feet first. "Of course he has fireballs, because this couldn't possibly be easy. Tim, I don't mean to rush you, but, you know, fireballs." Dick's voice trailed off as he dodged another.

Tim finally managed to open the last pouch and lay its contents on top of the others. He finished the incantation, and then proceeded to light the whole pile of what looked like dry kindle in front of him on fire. Damian screeched as if in pain as a spiral of blue light began to form above Tim's head. It moved outward until it was the same size as the chalk circle Tim had drawn. The symbols beneath Tim's feet started to emit an eery white light. Jason turned to Tim once the spiral of blue light reached the edge of the circle. "Is it stable yet?"

Tim shook his head no, but since he no longer had to speak whatever Damian's language was called, he could verbally answer. "Not yet, when the light is no longer spiraling there will be another flash and it'll change to another color. Once that has happened the portal will have been completely established. Keep him distracted until then. If he kills me, then the portal will die with me."

Dick grunted as Damian managed to teleport in front of him, and kick the wind out of him. Dick flipped away from the razor-sharp orange claws attempting to disembowel him. "You know, Tim, I'm starting to think that we need to have a talk about the way you just say things like, 'if he kills me, then the portal dies with me,' in such arid tones. I know you're not all about the emotions, but a little worry or concern for your own well-being wouldn't kill you."

Tim rolled his eyes as he watched the portal for any signs of stabilization. "Do you honestly think that now is the best time to have this conversation?"

Dick dodged Damian's claws once again as he rolled away. "Sure, why not? It's not like I'm busy." The three of them moved around the entire rooftop, sidestepping fireballs, blocking blows from the teleporting demon, and weaving in and out of the space in front of Tim. They made sure that there was always someone in front of him to keep the doorway to Damian's world open.

Tim wanted to respond to Dick, but before he could, there was a flash, and the portal changed from blue to purple. Tim waited a few more seconds to make sure that the portal was fully established before moving into the fray. "The doorway is stable. All we have to do is move him into the center of the of the circle." Tim yelled over the sounds of fighting.

Jason rolled his eyes as he ducked another fireball. "Oh, yeah, that's all we have to do. That should be easy as pie with the fucking teleporting, and what not."

The four of them circled around Damian, sidestepping attacks. There seemed to be no pattern to the way that he was popping in and out-moving around them, but Tim noticed that there was always a 3 second interval before he emerged in front of one them. Tim was trying to track Damian's movements, but it was difficult while trying to dodge all of his other attacks. Tim managed to spin out of the way of a fireball, only to come face to face with the demon himself. Before he had a chance to move, though, Damian sunk Tim's own knife into his gut. The portal flickered, but remained, though it wasn't as bright as it had been. Tim fell to the ground, unable to stand through the pain, as Damian stood over him laughing, thinking he had won, which was all the time that Bruce needed to lunge at Damian and bodily throw him into the center of the still-glowing symbols. Before the demon even had time to scream, the portal lowered itself over him, and seemingly swallowed him whole before disappearing with a loud popping noise.

When Bruce turned to check on Tim, he wasn't surprised to see the other two already working to keep him alive. "You did it, Timmy. He's gone, and you're gonna be fine." As Dick whispered reassurances to Tim, Jason removed the knife from Tim's gut, so that he could put pressure on the wound better. None of them were surprised at how much blood flowed out once the knife was removed, but it still made each one of them worry more. Jason held Tim's cape over the wound as Bruce reached for the control for the Batjet. Dick cradled Tim's head in his lap as he spoke softly. "It's going to be okay, little brother. You did great."

Jason applied as much pressure as he could as he lied to Tim. "You'll be fine. It's not even that bad. You'll be up, stealing the remote, and forcing me to watch more science shows in no time. It's not like you need a spleen anyway."

Bruce didn't say anything before walking over and carefully picking Tim up to carry him into the Batjet. The three of them worked together to make sure that Tim wasn't jostled too much and that Jason never had to relieve the pressure that he was putting on the wound. Once they had managed to get him into the jet. Bruce set the navigation system for the cave, and then the three of them got to work on stabilizing Tim's vitals, and patching him up as much as possible without Alfred there.

The moment that Jason was sure that the other two had it covered, he moved to contact Alfred and let him know that they were going to be in need of his medical skills and that he should have everything ready for when they arrived. But, as he reached for the comm, Jason froze when he caught sight of how much of Tim's blood was on his hands. It wasn't as though he hadn't seen it all while he was trying to hold Tim's guts in, but that wasn't really what he had been focusing on at the time. Now, it seemed to be the only thing that he could focus on. There was once a time when the sight of blood on his hands didn't faze Jason at all...much less the sight of Tim's blood on his hands; but he'd grown attached to both of his bothers over the last month or so, and it was hard to keep his mind on task knowing that he could very well lose one of them so soon after getting them back.

Before Jason could shake himself out of his reverie Dick came up behind him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Did you contact Alfred yet?"

Jason just shook his head no, but didn't say anything. Dick stared at him for a moment before squeezing him tightly. "Don't worry about it. I'll contact him. You should go sit with Tim." Jason just stared at him-almost incomprehensibly-before Dick pushed him in the direction of where Tim lay.

Bruce stood hovering over Tim, trying to keep him alive for the duration of the flight, which would have made Jason tense, but he just didn't have the energy right now. Jason wrapped a hand around Tim's wrist, checking his pulse. He had done the same thing the first night after they had been blown off the roof. Tim was just sleeping then-nursing wounds that looked far worse than they really were-but Jason had checked his pulse anyway, because the kid slept so soundlessly that Jason thought he had to have been dead. Jason had laughed for almost five whole minutes when Tim had flailed and tried to move into a fighting stance, but was too hurt to manage it properly. He wasn't flailing now, and that made Jason worry even more than all of the blood had.

"You've grown close to him." Jason's thoughts were interrupted by Bruce's voice.

It wasn't a question, but Jason nodded anyway. He wasn't sure why Bruce had said it. Maybe the man was just surprised that Jason was still capable of becoming close to anyone. "The kid grew on me, so what?"

Bruce simply shook his head. "I'm glad."

Before Jason could say anything they arrived at the cave, and the three of them once again had to work together to move Tim. As always, Alfred was there, waiting and ready. While Alfred worked on patching Tim up, Dick led Jason over to the showers. It wasn't as though Jason didn't know where they were, but it seemed that Jason's feet were having a hard time moving. Dick wrapped his arm around Jason's shoulders again as he directed him toward the showers. "Jay, come on, work with me here. You're barely shuffling your feet. You want to wash up, and get the blood off of you, don't you?" Dick sounded more worried than annoyed at Jason's lack of forward movement.

Jason shook his head as if to clear it, and then removed Dick's arm from his shoulders. "I'm fine...just tired." He hurried into the shower stall before Dick could say anything-or worse try to help him more-turned it on as hot as it would go, and didn't even bother undressing before stepping into the spray. He scrubbed at his hands and face, and then began removing his sopping wet clothes in order to scrub the rest of him. When Jason emerged from the shower it felt like eons had passed, and his skin was a bright red from the heat, but he didn't care. He felt better than he had in a long time. He wasn't surprised to see a pair of sweatpants and a shirt sitting out for him. Jason didn't want to know if they were Bruce's or Dick's, so he just put them on without thinking about it.

The shirt's tightness in the shoulders let him know that the clothes were Dick's, and he gave an inner sigh of relief, although he wasn't sure why that made him feel better. Jason walked out to find Alfred still working on Tim, who was most likely drugged out of his mind at that point, Dick was pacing at the other end of the cave so as not to get in Alfred's way, and Bruce was nowhere to be found...as always. Jason didn't feel like sticking around in the cave. His presence would only add to the tension, and he was suddenly starving, so he headed to the kitchen to go raid the refrigerator-because even left over Alfred food was still Alfred food, and few things could ever stand between Jason and Alfred's food.

Jason immediately started rummaging through the cupboards to find something to sate his grumbling stomach. When he opened one cupboard in particular he was intrigued to find an astounding amount of non-Alfred approved food. "What the hell? When I lived here there was never any junk food at all."

Jason spoke to the kitchen at large, not expecting an answer. That, however, did not mean that he jumped when he heard Bruce say from behind him, "That's because when you lived here you were half starved and junk food didn't have the nutrition that you needed."

Jason turned away from the cupboard that he had been ransacking to glare at Bruce. "So, junk food has the nutrition that Tim needs?" Bruce raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "You're right. I've seen the way that health freak eats...he needs the junk food."

The two of them fell into an awkward silence, which, considering that was how most of their conversations tended to end, Jason figured it shouldn't have been that awkward. He didn't feel like dealing with Bruce's intense gaze and lack of being able to communicate though, so he returned to gathering Alfred's food from the refrigerator. After what felt like a life time of just staring at the plastic containers in a vain attempt to avoid more interactions with Bruce, Jason gathered the ones he had set his sights on the very moment he had opened the refrigerator door, and took them over to the table. He sat down and started digging into the food without bothering to reheat it. That would take too long, and would leave him with even more time to spend awkwardly not talking to Bruce. When it was clear that Bruce was just going to stand there and watch him eat, Jason swallowed his most recent mouthful of food, and sighed. "So why aren't you down there with Tim?"

Bruce didn't say anything for a long moment, and Jason was almost completely certain that he wasn't going to get an answer, but just as Jason was picking up another piece of his cold turkey Bruce sat down at the table and began talking to him. "I was afraid you were going to leave, and...I didn't think that was fair to Tim."

The 'or me' wasn't spoken, but Jason heard it loud and clear anyway. He wasn't ready for this conversation...hell, he wasn't sure he'd ever be ready for another conversation with Bruce, and he almost hoped that Dick would show up from out of nowhere. Jason knew it was stupid to hope that his big brother would come bursting in to keep Jason from another emotionally compromising Bruce-lecture, but damn if the thought wasn't persistent. Before Jason could work himself up anymore than he had already managed though, Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder. Jason's hand automatically moved toward his boot knife, but he restrained himself, although he was sure that Bruce had seen the gesture anyway. He squeezed Jason's shoulder for a moment before releasing him. "I'm glad you chose to stay."

Before Jason could respond, Bruce was gone, and suddenly Jason's turkey didn't look so appetizing. This new 'talking about emotions Bruce' was really starting to get to him. If Bruce wasn't careful, Jason was going to start talking to Dick about checking for alien parasites or something, but all of that would have to wait until Tim recovered from this incident. Jason didn't want to consider what would happen if Tim didn't recover, because Jason didn't see any way that he could continue dealing with all of Dick's physical affection without Tim there to share the brunt of it. And, he knew that there was absolutely no way he could deal with Bruce without Tim there to act as a buffer, because for the entire time that they had been hiding out together, Tim had been willing to listen to Jason rant and rave about Bruce without trying to defend him once. Dick couldn't do that. It just wasn't something that he was capable of, and that wasn't something Jason could handle...not without Tim to separate them when the debate got too heated...especially when there wasn't a coffee table between the two of them to slow them down.

Jason knew that Tim had to pull through...for all of their sakes. There was no other option. He just hoped that the kid was able to keep fighting, because that was the only way any of this was going to work. And Jason was almost shocked to discover that he actually wanted this-whatever it was-to work.

The End (for now)